Project Management Software

Considerations When Buying Project Management Software

Like any other business application, project management software comes in all shapes and sizes. The last thing you need is to get stuck with the wrong software. Stay ahead of the game with our considerations when buying project management software.

Best-of-breed solutions provide tools that increase your ability to manage timelines, schedule resources, oversee budgets and perform other functions that are vital for the success of your project.

As you might expect, project management software is available in a variety of forms. Everything from enterprise-level solutions to solutions designed for personal use can be found in today's software marketplace.

By matching your software to your company's requirements, you can dramatically improve your project success rates. Since project success rates are what it's all about, you'll want to pay attention to these considerations when buying project management software.

Desktop solutions. Desktop solutions (software installed directly on your computer's hard drive or server) are the most straightforward way to implement a project management application. You purchase a license for the software upfront and it's yours to use for perpetuity. You'll get a highly responsive and graphics-intensive product, but you'll need to maintain the system and data storage requirements yourself.

Web-based solutions. Online or web-based solutions are also a popular option in project management software. For a monthly fee, you receive anywhere, anytime access to your application. The service provider maintains the system and stores your data for you. Web-based solutions are ideal for multi-user environments, but they are slightly less responsive and require a constant Internet connection to be functional.

Single-user & personal solutions. Some project management software applications are designed exclusively for a single-user environment, usually installed directly on to a single user's desktop or laptop computer. They are less expensive and can be ideal for personal project management, but may have limited value for managing business projects.

Collaborative and integration. It's important to evaluate project management software based on its ability to facilitate collaboration and integration. Ideally, you're looking for a solution that can be accessed by multiple project participants and integrates easily with accounting software or other business applications.

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